The European Investment
Bank has for the first time
granted funds to health
care in Belgium with a
€325 million gift to the
University Hospital of Leuven. The cancer, maternity
and paediatric departments will all benefit

I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S W ee k l y
news



business



arts





active

w w w. f l a n d e r s t o d ay. E U



living

Recreating................ 9

Seeing stars.............10

It’s the time of year when
the provincial family recreation parks come alive
again, with free walking
trails and zoos, plus low
fees for swimming pools
and row boats. The first in
our five-part series takes
a look in Flemish Brabant

Flanders is veritably bursting with Michelin stars, the
standard bearer of culinary
excellence. C-Jean in Ghent
is one such; the young chef
tells us how he got – and
keeps – his star

A group of 13 cardiologists at Middelheim
hospital in Antwerp paid €640,000 out of their
own pockets for heart-valve replacements for
32 heart patients because the procedure is
experimental, not covered by health insurance
and only has a slight chance of success.
Narrowing, or stenosis, of the aortic valve is one
of the most common heart problems faced by
older people, with an estimated 4% of those
aged over 65 affected. The solution is replacement of the valve, requiring open-heart surgery.

For the patients at Middelheim, that was no
longer an option, given their age and condition. Instead, the surgeons decided to implant
the so-called percutaneous aortic valve (PAV),
which is brought into the heart through an artery
after being introduced through a simple puncture in an artery in the groin.

➟

continued on page 3

he sound of helicopters hovering above. That to
me is the sound of the Ronde van Vlaanderen,
or Tour of Flanders. Being from south-east Flanders, where the annual cycle race from Bruges
to Meerbeke enters its decisive phase, hearing these rotors
always brings butterflies to my stomach because it’s the first
sign of the riders approaching.
Like many people, this reminds me of my childhood, when
every family gathering seemed to include watching one or
other bicycle race.
This sentimental attachment to the Tour of Flanders
stretches far beyond my family and the area of Oudenaarde, Geraardsbergen, Brakel and Zottegem. It is something millions of Flemish people, of all ages, can relate to.
With the exception of some mountain stages in the Tour
of France, nowhere else do so many people turn up to see
cyclists live.
In the past decade, people from abroad have also discovered the charm of the Tour of Flanders. “One-fifth of the
participants in the amateur Tour, which takes place the
day before the real event, come from abroad. The tour has
become a monument, not just for the Flemish, but for the
entire world. That is why we are taking steps to get it recognised by Unesco as Immaterial World Heritage. Apparently
we stand a good chance,” says Rik Vanwalleghem.
Vanwalleghem, who was a cycling reporter for two decades
and has written a dozen books on the subject, is the director of the Tour of Flanders Centre in Oudenaarde, south of
Ghent, a visitors’ centre that includes a museum, temporary
exhibitions, a brasserie and a shop. With plenty of cycling
maps, information and even showers on hand, it makes the
perfect starting point for cycling enthusiasts.

➟

continued on page 5

Bleeding in the street? €250, please
A woman in Aalst who left behind a bloody spot on
the ground after a cycling accident has been sent a
bill by the municipal insurer – because the fire brigade had to be called out to hose her blood from
the roadway.
Georgette Van Den Bossche and her husband Jozef
Uyttersprot, both in their 70s, were setting out to cycle along the Dender river in August last year, when
Van Den Bossche skidded on cobblestones and fell,
striking her head on the ground. She lost consciousness and, bleeding heavily, was taken to hospital.
She sustained two fractured fingers as well as cuts
and bruises and remained in hospital for eight days.
During that time, the Aalst fire brigade turned up to

clean up the roadway, a job taking an estimated 20
minutes. Last week, Georgette received a bill from
Ethias, the municipal insurer, for €250.
“They’re making a mountain out of a molehill,” Uyttersprot said. “If they’d told me the road needed to
be cleaned, I’d have taken my handkerchief and
mopped up the blood. They know nothing of humanity or feelings; everything comes down to procedure.”
The couple are considering taking legal advice to
fight the payment order. “But then, on the other
hand, I think I might as well pay,” says Uyttersprot.
“Then we can put it behind us.”

Business�������������������������������������������������� 7
 Government releases Green Paper on pensions
 Leuven students win Battle of Talents
 Week in Business

Arts����������������������������������������������������������

News in brief
Six suspected members of the
Kurdish separatist organisation PKK were released last
week from custody by a Brussels court. The five men and one
woman were among eight people
arrested in raids across Belgium
on 4 March. They were accused of
extorting money from Kurdishowned businesses and recruiting
young people for terrorist training camps. The PKK is listed as a
terrorist organisation by the EU
and the UN. Two other suspects
remain in custody.

Active������������������������������������������������������� 9
 An oasis of fun in leafy Kessel-Lo
 Jekino: film workshops for kids

The intelligence services last year
notified justice minister Stefaan De
Clerck that they had two members
of the federal parliament under
surveillance, the minister has
revealed. State security has
responsibility for terrorism, counter-espionage, dangerous sects and
ideological extremism. According to De Clerck, the surveillance
involved the private activities of
two members, whose names have
not been revealed.

Get the news from Flanders online in English
and French at www.flanderstoday.eu

Two men posing as buyers held
up an Antwerp jeweller at
gunpoint last week, stealing a
single diamond worth €230,000.
The attack is likely to increase
anxiety in the diamond district,
following assurances given by
the interior minister and the city
authorities that they would work
to improve security in the area.
Earlier this month, a diamond
dealer was held with his family
for 18 hours until he handed over
stones worth an estimated €4.5
million. The incidents are not
thought to be related.

Half of all owners of houses or
apartments sell or rent their properties without having the required
energy performance certificate
(EPC), it was revealed last week.
The EPC has been required since
2008 for house sales and since last
year for rentals. Drawn up by a
recognised expert, it provides an
energy profile of the property. In
spot-checks on 2,568 owners by
the Flemish Energy Agency, 1,208
could not provide a valid EPC.
Only 72 of the owners in question
were sanctioned, receiving a fine
of €500.

Motorists whose vehicles have
been damaged by potholes have
lodged 569 claims for damages
with the Flemish government
in the first two months of this
year alone. In 2009, 853 claims
were made, and the government
paid out €313,000. “The Flemish
region needs to get busy on devel-

Twenty exotic species – eight plants, eight mammals, two fish, one
amphibian and one bird – will be banned by the federal government
from October because they represent a threat to native wildlife and
habitats.
The dangers of the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) are well known:
the beast decimates young trees and other plants and takes over the
habitat of the native red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). Others are less
famous: Reeves’ Muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) is, like the Sika deer
(Cervus nippon), a handsome, doe-eyed creature. But they both
destroy trees by eating away their bark, leaving them exposed to
disease.
The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) has a body up to 15
centimetres in length, with another 25cm in the legs. He is a member
of the Ranidae family of so-called true frogs. But he also carries the
chytrid fungus, which does him no harm at all but which is fatal to
other amphibians. And while his legs are considered a delicacy in the
southern states of the US, he has a voracious appetite of his own: bullfrogs have been known to consume bats, birds, other frogs and small
rodents – anything, in fact, that will fit into his capacious mouth.
On 1 October these and other animals will be illegal in Belgium, and
any discovered will be killed and the carcass destroyed. The list also
includes a number of plants, such as the South American water primrose (Ludwigia grandiflora) and the South African sour fig (Carpobrotus edulis), which were introduced as exotic species at garden centres,
but which have now moved into the wild where they are considered
invasive weeds.
The list in full:
Mammals Raccoon dog, American mink, Grey squirrel, Reeves’
Muntjac, Thai squirrel, Pallas’ squirrel, Sika deer, Coypu
Amphibian Bullfrog
Fish Round goby, Chinese sleeper
Bird African sacred ibis
Plants Canadian waterweed, Water primrose, Parrot feather, Sour fig,
Egeria, New Zealand pigmyweed, South American water primrose,
Water milfoil

oping more efficient management
of the roads,” said parliamentarian
Liesbeth Homans, whose question
to public works minister Hilde
Crevits brought the figures to
light. “The Region is now paying
double: once to settle damages
claims and once more to fix the
roads.”

Open-VLD party leader Sven
Gatz plans to set up a Belgian
Beer Club for members of parliament who have an interest in the
nation’s favourite tipple. “I sometimes get the feeling we take the
richness, the quality and the
diversity of our beers for granted,”

Gatz said. “But in an increasingly
global economy, competition with
other beer-producing countries is
getting tougher.” Gatz already has
the cooperation of the Federation
of Belgian Brewers and has called
on his fellow members of parliament to show their support.

The national rail authority NMBS
has launched a special website to
offer rail information to users of
internet-enabled phones. The site,
m.nmbs.be, offers timetables and
a route planner, as well as news
about promotions, all in four
languages. The service is free.

The rail authority NMBS has cancelled plans to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the first
Belgian passenger train in May, as a mark of respect for the victims of the Buizingen train
crash. The first Belgian train ran from Brussels to Mechelen

The normal valve used in open heart surgery that is
reimbursed by the government costs between €1,700
and €2,000, whereas the PAV costs €20,000. In the
rest of Europe, the cost would be covered by national
insurance schemes, but in Belgium (and the US) it is
not. The federal Knowledge Centre for Health Care
(KCE) considers the treatment unproven: in France,
nearly one in four patients died within six months
of the procedure, a spokesman said, and one in
eight within a month. In the case of the Middelheim
patients, the PAV was a last resort, doctors admitted.
“It’s only logical that we should pay for valves
ourselves sometimes,” commented Middelheim
cardiologist Glenn Van Langenhove. “Not everyone
has that much money, and we can hardly send people
away to die.” 

The valve is introduced through the femoral artery to the heart, where a balloon is inflated (A) to open up the aorta. The new valve is then
expanded (B) and set in place (C), where it can take over from the old valve and keep the aorta open (D)

The Flemish government sticks
to the rule that it should provide
services such as schools, child
care, social and cultural provisions for one-third of the
population of Brussels. This
reflects a spirit of openness: the
provisions are not just there for
“ethnic” Flemish (they make
up less than one-third of the
population of Brussels), but for
anyone who wishes to make
use of them. The idea behind
this is that it might result in a
more positive attitude towards
the Flemish and the Dutch
language in general.

17

the ideal age for first sexual
contact, according to a large
majority. The perfect age for
entering the workplace is 22,
leaving home 23, moving in
with someone 24, getting married 25, having a first child 26,
and retiring at 60

Concerns have been expressed that the closure of post offices in
Brussels could make it difficult for Dutch speakers. According to
Ben Weyts, federal member of parliament for the Flemish nationalist party N-VA, replacing genuine post offices with the new PostPunten will take away the bilingual nature of the service.
The Post Office closed 25 of its 60 post offices in Brussels last
year, and this year plans to close another 13. At the same time,
they are introducing 76 new PostPunten, which provide a range
of basic services and are located within other premises, such as
supermarkets, motorway service areas and hotel lobbies.
While official post offices in Brussels are obliged to provide services in both languages, the staff of PostPunten are employed by
private businesses, not a state-owned enterprise. According to Inge
Vervotte, minister for state enterprises, the companies engaged to
run PostPunten have to ensure they operate bilingually. But, according to Weyts – and confirmed by a straw poll carried out last
week by De Standaard – that’s not always the case.
In one PostPunt close to the federal parliament, the owner was
unable to speak Dutch and had to be helped out by another customer. A similar situation occurred in a supermarket in the European Parliament area. In a third attempt, the owner of the premises,
unable to reply in Dutch, decided to speak only English.
“We’re losing the bilingual character of our state enterprises,” Weyts
said. “You can’t even send your children to the post office now unless they speak both languages.”

EIB grants €325 million to Leuven
The funding will pay for a new intensive care facility
and psychiatry centre

Last week the Youth Research
Platform released the results
of a survey on the attitudes of
young people in Flanders.

Spirit of openness
Many Flemish people find
it difficult to love their capital, partly because of an aversion to multi-cultural city life,
partly because they remember the times when Brussels
treated the Flemish as secondclass citizens. These days,
though, the roles are somewhat reversed, with Brussels
standing a real risk of becoming impoverished.

Fears over Post Office closures

THE WEEK
IN FIGURES

Anja Otte

Before and after photos of the Atomium
in Brussels, which shut off its lights last
Saturday to mark Earth Hour 2010, an
event organised by WWF. Across the
country 750,000 families turned out the
lights for an hour in support of actions
to fight climate change. More than 300
towns and municipalities took part,
together with 671 businesses, including
Samsung and Kinepolis. WWF Belgium
called the response “a gigantic success”.
Earth Hour was also marked in cities
across the world and at monuments,
including the pyramids, the Brandenburg
Gate in Berlin and Trafalgar Square in
London.

The Catholic University of Leuven and
the University Hospital of Leuven is set to
receive €325 million from the European
Investment Bank (EIB) to build a centre
of medical excellence at its Gasthuisberg
campus. This is the first time the EIB has
invested in health care in Belgium.
The loan will enable the hospital to bring
together activities currently dispersed
between several locations, create new
departments and install the latest medical technology to provide acute and
specialist hospital care and teaching and
research facilities all at one site. As well as
benefiting patients, EIB President Philippe
Maystadt said the new hub “will act as a
magnet site for third parties and satellite
projects in innovative sectors.”
The first €40 million phase of the loan
agreed in Leuven earlier this month will
go towards the construction of a new
32,000-square-metre intensive care and
critical services department, extending
the number of the hospital's operating
theatres and dialysis facilities.
A new psychiatry centre with specialised

diagnosis and treatment facilities is also
in the pipeline, as are a child psychology
department and a school for hospitalised
children. The existing cancer department
will be expanded, as will the maternity
and paediatric departments. The addition
of new laboratories, a teaching auditorium
and a nursery for staff will complete an
extensive renovation of the existing research facilities.
The Pellenberg campus will be transformed to provide medium- and longterm rehabilitation while the university
hospital campuses around the old town
will offer residential care once their current activities have been re-housed in
Gasthuisberg.
There are also plans to renovate the outpatient department, mortuary and hospital
transportation tunnels. Work has already
started to provide underground parking
for up to 1,500 vehicles. 

➟➟ www.uzleuven.be

This “one-third rule” has
brought great successes, such
as the Ancienne Belgique,
Brussels’ greatest rock concert
hall. Another success story is
Dutch-language
education.
The Flemish schools in Brussels are increasingly popular
because of the quality of the
education and the fact that it is
the best way to learn Dutch at
an early age – knowing Dutch
being a prerequisite for many
jobs. The Flemish schools in
Brussels now welcome children of every background, to
the point that pupils who speak
Dutch at home have become a
minority.
This spirit of openness requires
a lot of money, though, at
a time when the Flemish
government has to tighten its
belt. So when the news came
that Brussels will need another
23,000 school places by 2015,
minister for education Pascal
Smet (sp.a) reacted that Flanders might not keep up at the
same rate. Extra school capacity, Smet said, is “first and foremost the responsibility of the
French-speaking community.
Should we really finance the
education of children whose
parents do not have Dutch
as their second, third or even
fourth language?”
Now that is a tricky one. In
Flanders many people would
answer “no” to this. But then
again, Flemish policy has
worked in the past. The Flemish, in Brussels and elsewhere,
are no longer looked down
upon. Students who have gone
through the Dutch-language
education system are better
off linguistically than those
wo went to French-language
schools. The open spirit, in
other words, may be just what
Brussels needs at this moment.

3

Feature

Want to do the Tour?

You don’t have to be a pro to take part in the Tour of Flanders.
The day before the big men’s and women’s pro races are
competitions for amateur cyclists

F L A N D E R S T O D A Y
march 31, 2010

➟➟ www.sport.be/cyclingtour/rondevanvlaanderen

Cobblestone heroism

The Tour of Flanders is a social event more than a sports event for most spectators
➟

The renovated “reality museum”, hosted in person by
Freddy Martens, one of Flanders’ many cycling heroes,
is a trip down memory lane for those in the know, and
a good introduction to just what the tour mania is all
about for everyone else. A short movie shows the tour
from start to finish, including all the clichés: cycling
heroes (often local boys), cobblestoned roads and
surprisingly steep hills, the sound of motorbikes hooting to let the riders pass between hordes of spectators.
The museum also has cycling memorabilia, like jerseys,
trophies and bicycles, of course. Visitors can make
their own front page of Het Nieuwsblad, with themselves as victors beating Tom Boonen and Peter Van
Petegem, two former Flemish winners. Racing bikes let
you experience the effect on the body of riding hard
over cobblestones, and you can also try and keep up
with Peter Van Petegem on one of the notorious hills.
Some parts of the museum are specifically aimed at
children, such as why women athletes can never beat
Tom Boonen and just how much energy it takes to
finish the Tour of Flanders (no less than 18 plates of
pasta, apparently). “Like the Tour itself, we try not to
get stuck in nostalgia,” Vanwalleghem explains. “We
want to be a modern museum.”

Sexing it up

So what is it that makes this race different from all
others? “In Flanders, cycling is almost like a religion,
and the Tour of Flanders is like celebrating high mass,”
says Vanwalleghem. “It is a popular event, in every
sense of the word. It transports people to a different
dimension for a day, away from everyday worries.”
The Tour of Flanders is tied into social life as much as –
or more than – into sports. “Like all great sports events,
be it the American Superbowl or a Saudi camel race,
the Tour of Flanders is founded in history,” continues
Vanwalleghem. “It’s in our genes.”

“In Flanders, cycling is
almost like a religion, and
the Tour of Flanders is
high mass”
Moreover, side events also preoccupy the Flemish
during the Tour of Flanders. “There are window-dressing competitions; children make drawings about the
race in school; politicians are eager to be seen at the
tour, and cycling jargon has seeped into our language,”
says Vanwalleghem.
While the interest in casual cycling dwindled to the
elderly for a while, in the past 20 years it has become
trendy again. “In the 1980s, one fellow journalist could
not believe that I reported on cycling, what with having
a university degree and all,” says Vanwalleghem with
a smile. “The Americans have changed all that. Greg
Lemond and Lance Armstrong brought in big money
and a new look. Suddenly there were flashy helmets
and sunglasses – even the bikes became sexier.”

The bike gods

Then there is heroism. In Flanders, we love our Flandriens. “Flandriens used to denote almost illiterate
riders, with enormous strength. Now, it describes a

The Flemish Quick Step team’s Stijn Devolder works his way up the punishing Wall of Geraardsbergen, about 16 kilometres from the finish line in Meerbeke, a suburb of Ninove.
Devolder went on to win the 2009 race, hanging onto the title he won in 2008

style of riding: always on the offensive, with no hiding
or cowardice,” Vanwalleghem explains. Tom Boonen
and Stijn Devolder, both double winners, are typical
examples, but there are also non-Flemish Flandrientype riders, such as the Norwegian Thor Hushovd and
the German-Australian Heinrich Haussler.
“People here have a fundamental respect for Flandriens. Anyone who has ever ridden a bike in heavy
weather – and who hasn’t in Flanders? – can identify
with them,” continues Vanwalleghem. “Flandriens also
have an authenticity about them. No matter how much
talk there is of doping, you cannot fake a victory in the
Tour of Flanders. Eddy Merckx did not win because of
doping; he won because he was the best.”
But being the fastest rider in the Tour of Flanders is not
enough. “Cycling is an individual sport but practiced
within a team. It therefore requires a lot of emotional
intelligence, too,” says Vanwalleghem, launching story
upon story about how one champion exploited a love
rivalry between his two competitors and how another
lost a race because he had insulted a teammate the
night before.

Location, location, location

The landscape also adds to the Tour of Flanders’ reputation. “It’s hard to get lyrical about a football pitch,
but place like Koppenberg, Oude Kwaremont, Bosberg,
Berendries and Muur van Geraardsbergen have become
almost mythical,” says Vanwalleghem. “This makes
this whole area more attractive. You can find green
and hilly places all over Europe, but you can only cycle
along the same roads as the tour riders here.”
So invite over the neighbours or take to the country
roads of East or West Flanders – maps of the routes

are available on the tour’s website. “Whether people
watch it along the route or at home on TV, they rarely
do so on their own,” says Vanwalleghem. “The race also
gives you something to talk about with complete strangers. Politics as a topic often gets awkward, and talking
about football might even get you into a fight. Cycling
on the other hand always makes for a good chat, no
matter who your favourite is, because all the enthusiasts in the first place support the sport itself. You can
never do wrong with asking ‘Who do you think will
win?’”
So who does Vanwalleghem think will win? “Tom
Boonen. He is the man to watch.” 
➟➟ www.rvv.be

Tour of Flanders visitors’ centre
Markt 43, Oudenaarde
➟➟ www.crvv.be

The Tour of Flanders
in figures

85%

of the Flemish are proud of the Tour of Flanders

700,000

people watch it along the route. Roughly half of all spectators are under 40, while about 40% percent obtained a
higher education degree

7%

of all spectators spend more than a day in the area, resulting in a total spending of €14 million

100,000

people a year visit the Tour of Flanders visitors’ centre in
Oudenaarde, East Flanders
Flemish cycling legend Freddy Maertens guides you through the Tour of Flanders centre in Oudenaarde

5

Focus

F L A N D E R S T O D A Y
march 31, 2010

Working in the black

Illegal workers in service trades cost millions in lost tax revenue
Alan Hope

Who “pays” for illegal workers

In fact there are a number of victims: businesses who stay within the law suffer from
unfair competition; the resources of the
social protection safety net are under-

he number of cases of infringement
on social protection laws, when
employers are found to be employing staff illegally, fell last year by 2%, it was
announced last week with figures from the
Social Inspection and Investigation Service (SIOD). The worst offenders remain
the catering and building industries.
Most infringements by far took place in
the catering trade – hotels, restaurants
and bars, as well as take-aways – which
accounted for 46% of all “positive checks”.
Those are cases where inspectors determined that a breach of employment regulations took place.
The catering industry recently received a
major concession from the government –
the reduction of VAT from 21% to 12% –
which was supposed to be countered by an
effort on the part of the industry to reduce
zwartewerk, or black work, the term used
to denote illegal and undeclared employment.
The catering industry openly admitted
it would not, with only a few exceptions,
be passing on any savings to the client.
Instead, they would consider the lower
rate of VAT as a way to decrease expenses.
Employers in catering, as in every other
sector of the economy, complain that
high social charges in Belgium work
against employment. The contributions an
employer has to make towards an employee’s social insurance are a disincentive to
taking on staff. Employing people in the
black is generally seen, like tax avoidance, as a victimless crime: the boss gets a
worker, the worker gets a job, and only the
treasury is left wanting.

funded; the worker is left unprotected if he
or she gets ill or has an accident at work.
Finally, diners are unwittingly paying to be
served by staff who may have no training,
working for an employer who cares little
about the law, an attitude that may extend
to health and safety rules.
It can even be claimed that black work
in the catering industry forms one of the
tentacles of organised crime. It is well
known that restaurants are the favourite workplaces for placing illegal immigrants who have travelled here through
the hands of human traffickers. Trafficked
immigrants work long hours, sleep on the
premises in often miserable conditions
and are often prevented from leaving on
pain of being turned over to the authorities.
Defenders of the trade, however, point out
that were it not for the widespread avoidance of social charges, not only would

there be far fewer restaurants, but those
that remained would be considerably
more expensive.
Part of the deal on the reduction of VAT
was the introduction of “intelligent cash
registers”, which would make black work a
thing of the past. Waiting staff would have
to log in, and the cash register would keep
track of hours and transactions. While
some staff – dishwashers or cleaners, for
example – are not directly linked to the
cash register, restaurants would effectively
no longer be able to take in black income,
meaning it would be all the more difficult to make black payments to staff. The
computer logs would be open to the scrutiny of social inspectors at any time.
Not surprisingly, parts of the catering
industry are reluctant to introduce smart
cash registers, which are admittedly
expensive and which will have an even
greater effect on future earnings than the

Signs of social fraud
How would you know if your local trattoria or
brasserie were involved in illegal employment
activities? Here are two tell-tale signs:

• Good deals for cash. Some restaurants will
let you pay for lunch with a credit card but make
you pay cash if you come back for dinner. That’s
because business people at lunchtime often
eat on expenses and require a receipt. That
makes it impossible for the restaurant owner
to avoid declaring the income. In the evening,
however, customers are less demanding. If the
diner pays cash and nothing goes through the
till, the tax-man need never know.

6

A fixed-price menu might also be offered
at an attractive price, but only for cash. One
restaurant even offered a free bottle of wine to
couples who paid cash. The trick of operating
separate prices for cash is not confined to the
restaurant trade; a hotel might offer low-price
midweek deals, cash only. Most readers will
have come across this deal also being used
by garages, builders and even white-collar
professionals like doctors and lawyers.

• Lack of VAT receipts. Every customer has
the right to a VAT receipt, which ought to be
proffered without being asked for. In reality,
the opposite is usually true; you can have one
if you ask for it, though the staff may have
trouble finding the receipt book. Every official
receipt written out is money that has to be
declared. Most middle-sized restaurants can
avoid a lot of tax by failing to declare income.
Larger restaurants or chains don’t have the
opportunity or don’t bother taking the risk.
Snack bars and the like are taxed according to
a forfeit and don’t gain from you paying cash.
In restaurants in business or office areas, on the
other hand, where most diners are on expenses
and where the VAT receipt is the rule rather
than the exception, it’s possible for customers
to take their pick of the VAT receipts left lying
by those who don’t need them. Professionals
eating in the Schuman area of Brussels know
this: you might eat lunch for €50 but leave with
a found receipt for four diners worth €200 to
turn in on an expense report.

price alone. The system is not expected to
be in effect before 2013.
Industry representative Horeca Vlaanderen supports efforts to combat social
fraud, according to its director-general Luc
De Bauw. Most employers would prefer to
do everything legally, he says, but circumstances have made it difficult.
“Black work comes to the surface mainly at
peak moments,” De Bauw explains. “Right
now, for example, it’s terrace weather. Businesses have to find extra staff quickly to
serve the increased number of clients, and
that’s when we discover that occasional
workers are ready to lend a hand but don’t
want to be taxed in the normal way.”
If there were more flexible rules for occasional workers, he said, black work in the
catering industry would be less of a problem. 
➟➟ www.meta.fgov.be/siod

Social fraud
IN FIGURES

35,741

inspections carried out in 2009 by the
SIOD, up 13% on 2008

€68 million

in unpaid social security charges recovered

6,755

offences discovered, slightly fewer than
in 2008

8 in 10

of the offences discovered concern black
work

33%

of the checks concerned the construction
industry, which delivered fewer breaches
(17%) than average (26%)

Business

 3-4%

increase in car insurance prices over the past year, according to a survey of the market by Test-Aankoop. The number of accidents has gone
up, with accidents rising faster than the number of cars on the road

State pension reform paper released

Airlines • US Airways

US Airways will launch a
Brussels-Philadelphia daily
service on 7 April. Meanwhile,
Icelandair will start operating
a twice-weekly flight between
Reykjavik and Brussels as of 4
June.

Alan Hope

T

he federal government last week approved the new Green Paper produced by federal pensions minister Michel Daerden, which calls for a
strengthening of the so-called “second pillar” of pensions policy – the
supplementary pension provided by some employers to boost the state pension received by everyone.
The Green Paper, entitled “A Future for Our Pensions”, sketches the background of the current situation before asking a series of questions regarding
the sustainability of the present situation, opportunities for modernising and
simplifying the system and the financial viability of the policy.
“What comes to the fore above all else is the extreme complexity of our
pensions system,” said the Green Paper task force in a statement. There
are three main groups of pensioners: employees, public service workers
and the self-employed. Within that are a variety of rules on retirement age,
calculations and conditions of payment. On the one hand, the task force
says, the differences within the system allow for the special characteristics
of each sector to be taken into account. On the other hand, the system allows for different approaches to the same situation, which does not add to
transparency.
The Green Paper is intended to be a basis for reform of the pensions system,
but prime minister Yves Leterme, accompanying Daerden for the launch of
the document, stressed that his government will not be bound by a calendar.
On the question of raising the retirement age to 63, something Darden has
previously suggested, Leterme told the VRT politics programme De zevende
dag that any change would be for the long term. However, he considered
that asking people to work a few years longer was “perfectly feasible.”
At the same time, on another TV station, Daerden repeated his support for a
proposal to raise the state pension to €1,450 net per month. According to
some figures, 21% of those who have to subsist on the state pension alone
are living under the poverty line.  ➟➟ www.pensioenconferentie.be

Bakery • La Lorraine
The Ninove-based La Lorraine
bakery group, which operates the
200 Panos sandwich bars and 81
DeliWay fine bakery outlets, will
develop its activities in Central
and Eastern Europe. The move is
part of a €35 million investment
programme that includes the
construction of additional
production capacity in Antwerp
to supply supermarkets.

Electronics • Punch
Punch Graphix, the producer
of Xeicon digital printers, has
received a takeover offer from the
Dutch NPM Capital investment
fund. The offer values the
company at €164 million – 64%
more than the company's stock
market valuation.

Construction complaint forum off to flying start
A programme set up by the Flemish economy
ministry to take complaints about quality of
building work received 54 emails on its first day,
minister Vincent Van Quickenborne revealed last
week. The complaint email address was set up
after pressure from the VTM home makeover
series Red mijn huis (Save My House).
“A first look gives the impression that these
are serious complaints involving large sums of
money,” Van Quickenborne said. “Complaints
vary from contractors who fail to keep
appointments to works that are never carried
out, all the way to contractors who vanish off
the face of the earth with advance payments.”
The complaints received will be examined by a
panel of 12 experts, and follow-up given to the

more serious cases. An important aspect will
be to examine a contractor’s suitability for the
job in terms of having the necessary resources,
manpower, registrations and authorisations. The
panel will have the power to bring in the various
governmental inspection services that regulate
the construction industry. “In that way we hope
to shake out the small group of contractors and
companies, the cowboys who are ruining the
industry,” Van Quickenborne warned.
The Building Union, which has a seat on the
panel, advised potential home-builders and
renovators to take an informed approach from
the beginning. “Use your common sense: sign a
binding contract with a professional contractor,”
said Anja Larik of Bouwunie.

Complaints email address: redmijnhuis@economie.fgov.be

A quality sensor for food products developed by a group of six doctoral students from the Catholic University of Leuven has won this year’s Battle of
Talents, a competition to attract virtual investments. The group and their SenseWell sensor convinced a panel of MBA students that they were the best prospect in the competition and attracted over €30 million in virtual investments.
The Battle of Talents runs from the start of the academic year and is open to
students and researchers from all universities and colleges in Flanders. Wouldbe entrepreneurs form teams, employ talent from the ranks of registered players and receive help in developing their business plans. At the same time, MBA
students from Flemish institutions evaluate the enterprise teams as potential
investments.
At the final, held in Antwerp last week, the teams had to defend their product
and business plans in front of their investors. SenseWell managed to defeat
seven other finalists, to win €10,000 in cash, a software package designed
for start-up companies and a green VW Polo. In all, 550 groups from across
Flanders entered the initial stages of the game last October.
➟➟ www.biw.kuleuven.be

Business confidence up
Confidence of business leaders in the economy rose in March almost to the
levels of August 2008, just prior to the start of the financial and banking crisis.
The enterprise confidence index, compiled from a poll by the National Bank of
6,000 business leaders across the country, is now up to -3.6, from a level of
-7 in February. In February last year the index hit its nadir at -31 points.
Analysts welcomed the rise as “hopeful” and “positive” news, but they also
counselled caution. “It is still too early to speak of a sustainable recovery,” one
analyst told De Morgen. “The consumer has to be reawakened, and companies
need to start investing again. One swallow does not make a summer.”
The upward trend was spread across all sectors, but most prominent in
business-to-business services. But while confidence is rising, the underlying
economic indicators, such as the level of economic activity and the jobless
total, are still in crisis.
The National Bank takes a monthly poll of business leaders in manufacturing
industries, construction, trade and business-to-business services. They are
asked about production and sales, employment prospects, market demand
and inventory.

Fluxys, the gas
transport and network
management company, has been
sold by Electrabel to the public
Publigas holding company
for €636 million. The move is
part of a package of demands by
the EU competition authorities
to allow Electrabel's parent,
Suez, to merge with Gaz de
France in 2008. Fluxys’ portfolio
also includes stakes in the
Zeebrugge gas terminal and
the Interconnector gas pipeline
between Britain and Zeebrugge.

Energy • Seastar
Seastar, the wind-farm operator
controlled by Ostendbased Electrawind, has
won a concession to build a
41-windmill park on the
Thornton bank, 30 kilometres
off the Flemish coast, at a cost of
€800 million. Of the six official
concessions put up for tender in
the North Sea, five have already
been attributed. Only one remains
on the market, with Electrabel in
the running to seize it.

Metals • Bekaert
Bekaert, the Zwevegem-based
steel wire and cord producer,
last week inaugurated its third
technology centre in Pune, near
Mumbai. The new facility will
allow the company to further
strengthen its leading position on
the market for steel cord used in
vehicle tyres.

Shipping • P&O
British shipping group P&O
will relaunch its night freight
ferry service between Zeebrugge
and Dover on 7 April to meet
growing demand. The company
suspended the line in 2002
because of fierce competition
from Eurotunnel. Passengers will
be taken on the ships at a later
date.

7

Arts

Ambach’s got talent

Paul Ambach was discovered in a New York bar, performing with his son
Nathan, and the pair were asked to do an audition for the TV series America’s
Got Talent. Next month they’ll find out if they move on to the next round

F L A N D E R S T O D A Y
march 31, 2010

➟➟ www.americasgottalentauditions.com

Boogie nights
After changing the landscape of live concerts in
Belgium, Paul Ambach steps down from Live Nation
– and onto the stage
Marc Maes

He brought us Michael Jackson, the Rolling
Stones and innumerable other bands that
would not otherwise have found their way
here. It was Paul Ambach who put Belgium on
the map of major concert tours. So impressive
was his portfolio, that, in 2001, he was able to
sell it all off to Live Nation.
Forty years after Ambach, 61, started life as
one of the country’s very first professional
concert promoters, he’s stepping down. Or
rather, he’s stepping onto the stage to spend
more time as his alter ego – Boogie Boy.
Music is in fact a thread that works through
the Ambach family: in 1900, Ambach’s grandfather, a piano tuner and Klezmer musician,
travelled through Poland playing weddings,
celebrations and bar mitzvahs. During the
Second World War, his father survived the
holocaust by singing as a tenor in the Lyon
opera house. Next May, Paul’s son Nathan will
release his debut album, while daughter Marilyn is a gifted composer.
“I have always been into the roots of rock
‘n’ roll and blues,” says Ambach. “But when
I heard Ray Charles for the first time on the
radio – the 1958 ‘Live at Newport’ concert
– I knew that that was the music I wanted
to play.”
It was at Antwerp University, where he earned
a translation degree, that Ambach started
playing music and staged his first concerts.
Inspired by American concert promoter Bill
Graham’s “Blues at the University” concept,
Ambach invited John Lee Hooker to Antwerp.
“It was a huge success,” he says, “and followed by Muddy Waters, Freddie King and Buddy
Miles. Because Hooker came solo to Antwerp,
Ambach “put together a backing band, with
me playing the piano – I also accompanied
Muddy Waters and BB King. Boogie Boy was
born.”

Before Boogie
In 1970, when the Beatles announced their
break-up and The Who were recording Live at
Leeds, Ambach launched GEMco, a concert
promotions company. “The word ‘promoter’
didn’t even exist at the time,” he smiles.

GEMco’s first show was a James Brown
double concert, at the Deurne Arena in the
afternoon, followed by a late show in Brussels’ Vorst Nationaal. “But the big bang came
in 1973,” says Ambach, “when the Rolling
Stones had to cancel their Paris shows [due
to Keith Richards’ conviction for drug possession]. We organised three shows in Brussels
and Antwerp – my entry to live rock ‘n’ roll.”
After that breakthrough, Led Zeppelin, Black
Sabbath, Deep Purple, Genesis, Supertramp
and a wealth of other big bands came to
Belgium courtesy of Ambach.
Ambach teamed up with a swimming pal,
Michel Perl, to launch promotions company
Make it Happen. “I was the traditional promoter, with a personable attitude towards the
artists, and Michel was a fierce negotiator –
so we made a strong team.”
In those days, says Ambach, a concert promoter “was the 24/7 companion of the stars,
taking care of them. Those were really privileged moments, the time I spent with these big
acts, from Robert Plant to Mick Jagger. They’d
all say ‘Hello Paul!’”
Ambach cites the Frank Sinatra show at Vorst
in 1975 as the highlight of his career. “We
didn’t have the money, but Sinatra’s management was very cooperative – he was the
world’s most wanted artist.”

From backstage to onstage
As the company evolved, so did Ambach’s
blues career. The name Boogie Boy was
inspired by the Blues Brothers; he replaced
“blues” by “boogie” (also a 12-bar type of
music). Ambach toured Europe with BB King
and played stages from London’s Ronnie
Scott’s to the Hague’s North Sea Jazz Festival. “I have always been the artist close to
the audience – without an agent, manager
or marketing – exactly the opposite of what
other people in show business do,” notes
Ambach. “But I speak ‘music’ and negotiate
in six languages.”
Ambach plays about 10 shows per month
during the summer. “I never went into organising summer festivals myself; I prefer-

Paul Ambach, aka Boogie Boy, channelling Ray Charles
red playing with the Kinks at Werchter!” he
laughs.
In 2001, 30 years after Paul Ambach pioneered
the concerts business, Make it Happen was
sold to multinational SFX, which later became
Clear Channel and Live Nation, together a
concert promotions empire. “I had the feeling
that the whole concert business was becoming very industrialised,” Ambach says, “very
professional but without the personal touch.
It was no longer so much about people as
about money and settlements. A new era was
coming, and I decided to jump ship.”
Though he stayed at Live Nation as a consultant until just last month. “Now I want to have
some time off for my family and get Boogie
Boy on track, follow the path I took with the
My Tribute to Ray Charles DVD. I want to be
available for the audience, for the concerts…
back to basics!”
With “The Boogie Boy Show”, Ambach pays
honour to legends like Ray Charles and BB
King. Besides having a booming voice that
sounds like it was born in New Orleans rather

than Flanders (and caused Fats Domino to
nickname him “Little Ray”, after Ambach’s
mentor, Ray Charles, he pounds the piano with
the energy of a 20-year-old. When Ambach
roars “Let the good times roll!”, they do. 
Boogie Boy will play at festivals across
Belgium this summer. Check the website
for his upcoming shows
➟➟ www.boogieboy.be

Thanks, Keith
Belgium finally got its big rock ‘n’
roll break in 1973 when the Rolling
Stones had to cancel their Paris
shows because of Keith Richards’ conviction on drug charges.
Ambach managed to pick up the
slack, booking the band in Brussels and Antwerp, and a Belgian
concert industry was born.

Soul divas meet in Sportpaleis

M arc M a es

Flemish pop singer Natalia and Sportpaleis CEO Jan Van Esbroeck
announced last week that a third edition of “Natalia meets…” will take
place in January, 2011. Following on her first two duo performances,
this one will see Natalia (far left) onstage with superstar soul singer
Anastacia (left).
With more than 200,000 tickets sold to “Natalia meets the Pointer
Sisters” in 2006 and “Natalia meets En Vogue and Shaggy” in 2008,
the 2011 edition is poised to become another highlight in Natalia’s
seven-year career, since she came in second in the 2003 Idool televised
competition. Since then, Natalia has sold more than 400,000 albums
and DVDs in Flanders.
“We spent quite some time looking for the right musical match,”
explains Natalia, “and the combination with Anastacia is perfect. I’m
a big Anastacia fan myself, and I’m convinced that we will be able to
bring a perfect repertoire mix.”
Anastacia, who debuted with the single “I’m Outta Love” 10 years
ago, is a huge seller in continental Europe with more than 14 million
albums over the counter. In Antwerp, she will perform her own material and duets with Natalia. Tickets are on sale now.
➟ ➟ www.nataliameets.be

8

Active

Shangri-La of Flanders
Family recreation parks abound in Flanders, as you’ll see in our latest monthly series.
This April, check in on the provincial parks of Flemish Brabant

T

here are two things everyone knows about the Flemish. One, they are very family oriented. Two, it
doesn’t matter how cold it is, if the sun is shining,
they head outside. These two passions come together in the
wealth of family recreation parks you find from just outside
cities to far out in the countryside, from little parks with a
few caged animals to humongous forests with canoeing,
restaurants and hectares of play structures.
We don’t have to tell you that it’s been a long, cold winter.
Now that spring has finally sprung, parents are not hesitating to pack up the kids for a hearty dose of fresh air and
vitamin D at the nearest rec park. The parks are run by the
provinces, and every province has several to choose from.
This week we begin a five-part series on these family recreation parks in Flanders, and our first is in Flemish Brabant,
specifically, Provinciedomein Kessel-Lo. From pretty,
winding pond paths to endearing barnyard animals, this is
a quintessential recreation spot.
Kessel-Lo is a suburb of Leuven, and the Provinciedomein
is only about a 20-minute walk from Leuven’s train station.
The provincial park has a sprawling 45 hectares of surface
area as well as a number of ponds. This remarkable public
area was carefully planned in the 1970s as a merger of three
private parks.
Walkers and runners who are tired of pounding the pavement will enjoy the wide and gentle paths. In the park’s
centre, you can circle around two adjacent, picturesque
ponds, complete with waterfowl, like ducks, geese and
swans.
For those who like water sports, the park offers fantastic

options. The large pond has just opened for boating, and
visitors can rent both paddle and row boats for a cheap
€3.50 an hour. A smaller pond in the southwest portion of
the domain rents electric boats for €2 per hour. The heated
pool, which caters to kids under 12 with its wide slide and
shallow depth, opens in May.
A number of imaginatively designed play areas in the park
cater to children of all ages. The biggest playground has a
steep slide and a ropes course to challenge older kids. Some
ingenious tire swings that both swing and bounce induced
a steady stream of giggles from my 18-month-old companion.
Visiting the park’s resident animals also proves a fun activity for small children. A barn and grazing area in the
southwest portion of the domain includes donkeys, goats,
chicken and a small, white bunny.
The park’s visitor centre, Het Ecocentrum Kessel-Lo, hosts
hands-on activities for kids that encourage environmental
literacy. They can learn about climate and the important
role that bees play in the environment. The Ecocentrum
also works to promote the domain’s new management plan
to the public. The plan includes special measures to protect
and support native wildlife. Every month, an experienced
guide leads a walk through the Lovenarenbroek, a wetland
reserve and portion of the park that is typically closed to
visitors in order to protect its fragile ecosystem.
Another unique educational opportunity for children from
six to 12 is learning about traffic regulations. Kids can then
put their knowledge to the test in the verkeerspark (traffic
park) with bikes and go-carts.
Bikes can also be rented at the Provinciedomein. Within the park there is only one kilometre of bike path, but the park can serve as
a starting or resting point for longer routes.
One popular biking route, the 34-kilometre
Horstroute, takes cyclers by the park as well
as the 12th-century Vlierbeek Abbey and the

beautiful Horst Castle in Sint-Pieters-Rode.
After an active day in the domain, there are two fine
options for eating and drinking. The Groene Lotus and
Stille Waters are located in the park and both have lovely
outdoor seating areas. The first is a bistro, the second more
of a cafeteria that features the usual snacks. They both have
a good selection of beer.
Provinciedomein Kessel-Lo is open all year during daylight
hours, and access is free. 

Provinciedomein Haalve Maan ➟ in Diest features a huge outdoor pool that is surrounded by a
white-sand beach, as well as a rowing pond, petting zoo, walking paths, mini golf and more. (The pool
doesn’t open until 1 May.) Hikers and bikers who want to spend more than a day exploring the area
can find two budget-friendly cabins on site. Omer Vanaudenhovelaan 48, Diest
Provinciedomein Huizingen ➟ in Beersel hosts a 55-hectare arboretum with walking trails, a large
pool, mini golf, playgrounds and boating on the Huizingen castle lake. Torleylaan 100, Beersel
Provinciedomein Het Vinne ➟ in Zoutleeuw features the largest natural lake in Flanders as well as
playgrounds, farm animals and plenty of opportunities for nature walks and bird watching. Ossenwegstraat 70, Zoutleeuw
➟➟ www.vlaamsbrabant.be/vrije-tijd-cultuur/provinciedomeinen

We all know how hard it is to get kids signed up for stages and workshops during
the school holidays, so why not have the workshop come to you? That’s the possibility being offered by Jekino, the Schaarbeek-based children’s film collective.
The deal is simple: you provide the space, which needs to be equipped with plenty
of electrical sockets, a TV, a DVD player and a gaggle of children (maximum 15
EDUCATIE
usually). Jekino will show up with the rest of what’s needed, including in some cases a portable
cinema museum.
The contents of the package depends on the workshop.
For kids about six to 1o, a one-day animation workshop includes monitor, digital cameras, laptops and
other audio-visual equipment. A two-day workshop includes editing and a DVD of the final result.
For 10- to 18-year-olds, a three-hour workshop provides the “ABCs of Film”, with cameras and film
clips.
For youth workers and teachers, meanwhile, there is a one- to five-day tailor-made workshop on
media education and the use of audio-visual methods in teaching.
The cost is generally around €150 for a half day or €300 for a full day. Most customers are institutions like youth centres, cultural centres and schools, explains Jekino’s Sam Geuens, but if you’ve
got the kids, they’ve got the workshop. They are mostly done in Dutch, but, says Geuens, “the teams
of animators and monitors are freelancers, and the possibility exists to do a workshop in French or
English.”
Jekino also offers a film-hire service, from choosing the most suitable film for a group, to providing
the film and the equipment required to show it. For films that are distributed by Jekino, like the recent
animated hit Brendan and the Secret of Kells, there are also lesson packs provided.

Ding dong, Jekino calling • Flemish film distributor will bring its youth workshops to you

jekino

➟ ➟ www.jekino.be

9

Living

C-ing is believing

Jason Blanckaert earned his Ghent restaurant a Michelin star two years ago and now puts his recipes online
Courtney Davis

Star power

Many chefs find as much stress as euphoria in being
granted a Michelin star. The pressure to keep it – or
increase it – is intense. But Blanckaert is confident. And
he has no desire for two stars. “I don’t want to change the
restaurant style. I just want to be a good one star,” he says.
“I think I’ll be able to keep it; my cooking has evolved and
improved since I first got it.”
His dishes are a testament to the well-earned star. Take
the amuse bouche, complimentary with the aperitif: a large
spoon held a bite-size scoop of creamy foie gras with an
ice-cold curl of beet. Next to this was a raw mussel on top
of a square of toast, which had a smoked, meaty flavour
to it. Divine.

itting across from me after the lunch service is over,
the chef ’s posture manages to convey arrogance and
boredom at the same time. He seems tired of the
conversation. He doesn’t like to describe his cooking style; he isn’t involved in pricing so can’t comment on
the cost; nor does he have an opinion about the quasifamous artwork in the dining room.
Perhaps he has gotten used to the attention that comes
with earning a Michelin star. Already at 30, Jason Blanckaert is a chef who makes no apologies.
Blanckaert has been at the helm of C-Jean for a few years
now, earning the 25-year-old restaurant a place on the
culinary map of Ghent. This fine-dining establishment
located near the city’s belfry seats 30 at small, white linen
tables, a wall of bottled wine separating the kitchen from
the front. The lunch menu is just as small: three starters
and three mains, listed on chalkboards.
The set lunch menu includes a starter, main and coffee at
a very reasonable €35. Set dinner is €75 to €85. This is the
beauty of the one-star Michelin restaurant – even if it’s a
splash out, it is an affordable one.
“There are two types of people: Those who want a big
table, silver cutlery, crystal glasses, hordes of waiters,” says
Blanckaert, “and those who come here to get the same
quality, but a different experience that is about the food.”
He avoids an a la carte menu in order to use seasonal
ingredients. He has three guiding principles: local, wild,
fresh.
As he talks about the food, he becomes animated, engaged.
Here is the young, passionate chef I imagined.
From a young age, Blanckaert was interested in cooking and at 15 attended hotel school near his hometown
of Poperinge in West Flanders. After graduation, he
worked at the prestigious three-star Hof Van Cleve in
Kruishoutem, East Flanders, for two years before coming
to C-Jean.
Initially his dishes were imitations of his teachers’, but
now he’s come into his own. His constant experimenting
and quest for knowledge earned him the Michelin star in
2008, a feat that both surprised and inspired him. “I had
no idea we had gotten a star until the phone started ringing after the book came out,” he says. “I wasn’t aiming for
it; I was simply making good dishes.”

C-Jean, service for 30 under the watchful eyes of an iconic photo

The starter featured an ingredient list that took longer to
read than to eat. Rectangular cubes of pork belly, mussels,
red onions, parsley root, foie gras, silver onions and broth
(poured tableside) created an aromatic and visual dish. At
three bites, it was tiny, but tasty.
The main was a combination of egg and fish that also
included mushrooms, cauliflower foam, thickened beurre
blanc and capers. The egg managed to meld the otherwise
uncomplimentary ingredients.
“I takes classics and re-envision them. This,” he says, referring to my eggy plate, “was like a hollandaise sauce, which
is very common for fish. So of course it would work.” It
more than worked; it was a Hail Mary of flavour. Tried
individually, the ingredients were well cooked but unremarkable. Together, it was utterly satisfying, blending
various flavours, textures and colours.
“These dishes are not for the average palate, but that is
what makes us different from an average restaurant in
Ghent.” Blanckaert is not, as I came to realise, trying to
sound arrogant. He is merely single-minded.

Flemish Foodies

Blanckaert has joined fellow Michelin-starred chefs Kobe
Desramaults of In de Wulf in Dranouter and Olly Ceule-

naere, formerly of Withof in Brasschaat and now in search
of a restaurant in the Ghent area, to launch www.flemish
foodies.be.
The creators of the web venture (a writer/photographer
duo) submit write-ups and stunning photos, while the
chefs provide recipes. While it might seem odd for a wellknown chef to give away his secrets, Blanckaert has an
entirely different approach “That’s the old school, Old
French way of thinking,” he says. “If everyone acts like
that, there is no evolution. Share. Don’t copy but build
upon what is out there. The Spanish chefs had a revolution 15 years ago by sharing, and now they’re top in the
world.”
He has had restaurants reproduce his dishes, but isn’t
mildly perturbed: “It’s a rubbish restaurant. If you eat that
dish here and then there, it’s not the same.”
This sort of confidence and honesty is no surprise to his
friends. “Jason is impulsive, egotistical, but in the best
possible way. If he has an idea, he works to make it perfect
for himself, not for anyone else. He doesn’t make any
concessions.” 
➟➟ www.c-jean.be
➟➟ www.flemishfoodies.be

The Lust Supper
When at C-Jean, you won’t be
able to miss the photograph.
The only decoration on the
entire wall, the enormous picture
re-imagines the last supper. It is
by Marc Lagrange of Antwerp
and features his typical style
of a bevy of beautiful women
(and one man), all in various
states of undress, gorging on
food. Purchased three years
ago, it was off-putting enough
for a regular customer to stop
coming (okay, he was a priest)
and interesting enough if you
want another excuse to make a
reservation.
Tiny but tasty lunch starter

10

Arrogant or confident? Who cares. Jason Blanckaert can cook

F L A N D E R S T O D A Y
march 31, 2010

The one-star wonders
The exalted Michelin guide offers one, two or
the coveted three stars to a lucky few restaurants across the world. Belgium has two threestar restaurants, 13 two-star restaurants and an
impressive 86 one-star restaurants. For most
diners, it’s difficult to ascertain the difference in
quality and presentation, which is what makes
one-star restaurants so intriguing: excellent and
unique cuisine and service, without the three-star
price.
Besides C-Jean, here are two one-star restaurants worth your money.

IN DE WULF
In the middle of farmland in Dranouter, West Flanders, the landscape you see is transformed into
the meal on your plate. In de Wulf’s chef Kobe
Desramaults is known as a chef passionate about
local ingredients. He sources ingredients as natural as possible, gathering his own roots and herbs
that would otherwise be called weeds. Highly
creative menu options include pigeons from
across the French border prepared with hay or
tubers from down the road. You can fall in love
with a meal, but don’t get too attached as dishes
rotate depending on what is in season. A set lunch
is €45, and dinner options are €75, €95 or €115.
➟ ➟ www.indewulf.be

DE JONKMAN
De Jonkman in the Sint-Kruis suburb of Bruges is
a gem of a restaurant, run by husband-and-wife
team Filip and Sandra Claeys. Chef Filip comes
with credentials that are hard to beat, previously
working in Bruges’ triple-starred De Karmeliet
and the Netherlands' triple-starred Oud Sluis. He
employs a less dramatic approach, where product
is king. The dishes are still beautifully presented
and extremely creative, such as the grilled goose
liver with an emulsion of mushrooms and marinated red beetroot on a layer of granny smith
apple soup. De Jonkman is in a renovated Flemish villa (pictured below) with an almost magical garden, which further establishes the relaxed
atmosphere for indulging in delicious and thoughtful food. A four-course menu is €70, and a fivecourse is €85.
➟ ➟ www.dejonkman.be

Stamps of approval
The tradition of Taiwan meets the quirkiness of Antwerp
at this year’s Mecca for stamp dealing
Martin Banks

T

he world’s most rare and expensive stamps can be found at
Antverpia 2010, an event that Antwerp is re-staging after 80
years. It was in 1930 that the port city last hosted a national
stamp exhibition.
Organisers are delivering a first-class event for stamp enthusiasts,
not least because it coincides with the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Belgian Federation of Philatelic Associations.
Philately focuses on the study of stamps, which is not the same as stamp
collecting. The Belgian Federation is the world's oldest, having launched
in Antwerp in 1890, and plans a series of special events at Antverpia
– not least of which is the annual European Championship of Philately.
Interest only increases from there: Birdpex, a world-renowned philatelic exhibition centred on the theme of birds, which is held every
four years, will run alongside the two others. So essentially, everyone
who’s anyone in the world of stamps will be in Antwerp next week.
About 50 postal organisations and 100 stamp dealers from around
the world will participate, with 2,000 frames of stamps displayed in
four exhibition halls. Some 35,000 international visitors are expected at the event, where one of the most popular stamps on display
is likely to be the famous “Termonde inversé”, or “Inverted Dendermonde”, said to be the most expensive stamp in Belgium. The 1920
stamp is part of a print run error, and the town hall of Dendermonde
is pictured upside down.
The Belgian postal service has also issued a special set of
stamps illustrating Antwerp's history and heritage for Antverpia.
Considering the three events in one, Antverpia is a “Mecca” for stamp
buffs, says event manager Frank Daniels. “We are very excited. Philatelists from all over the world will be converging on the city, and we
want to give them a typically warm Flemish welcome,” says Daniels.
“It is a unique event and gives the general public the chance to have
a glimpse at some of the rarest and most beautiful stamps in the
world.”
Each year, the Federation of European Philatelic Associations invites a country to the championship as a special guest; this year,
that’s Taiwan. Over the years, Taiwan has been hailed not just for
its beautiful stamps that often depict indigenous wildlife, but also
for its humanitarian assistance. Taiwan company Chunghwa Post
will sponsor a charity sale of Taiwan stamps worth about €11,000.
The proceeds of the sale will go to CliniClowns Belgium, a nonprofit organisation that sends professional clowns to visit sick
and hospitalised children. The organisation relies entirely on

public donations to continue its work. “Sending two clowns to
a hospital once a week costs us about €12,500,” says CliniClowns coordinator Valerie Van Gastel. “If we succeed in selling
the entire collection, we can visit an extra 750 youngsters.”
The Taiwan stand will be a centrepiece of the exhibition. Its staterun enterprise Chunghwa Post will showcase decades of the island’s
postage stamps, particularly those featuring birds and endangered
species. About 500 species of birds, 70 species of mammals and
3,000 species of fish inhabit Taiwan, affording abundant material for
stamp design.
Patrick Wang of the Taipei Representative Office to Belgium says he
hopes this will raise public awareness about wildlife conservation. He
said that anyone visiting their stand will receive a free calligraphy of
their name written in traditional Chinese characters. 

The famous wildlife of Taiwan and the famous funkiness of Belgium shine through in stamps at Antverpia

The most beautiful thing about the city maps produced by Use-It
Tourist Info for young people is how they cut to the chase. In their
map of Bruges: “Never take pictures on the Markt. It’s not because
there are statues everywhere that you have to take pictures of every
single one.” And in Mechelen: “Choose the right football team.”
In the new edition of the map of Brussels, I was delighted to see:
“Brussels is ugly, and we love it….So don’t be surprised that we
built a terrible apartment block next to an Art Nouveau jewel or a
pseudo-classical monster in front of Central Station.”
Fortunately for Use-It, their new office is located next to De Munt
opera house, a jewel rather than a monster. To celebrate their new
digs and their new edition of the Brussels map, the tourist organisation is staging a Waffle Binge at 17.00 on 1 April. One local,
one tourist in a waffle-eating face off. Who can eat the most in 10
minutes?
The local is “Pitch”, one of Use-It’s volunteers. “He’s not very big, but
he can eat like a horse,” says Use-It’s Nicolas Marichal, with confidence. “The tourist we still have to find because, you know, they
don’t stay very long. On the day, the biggest Australian or American
who comes in, we’ll ask if he wants to compete against Pitch.”
And one will surely come in. Use-It gets many visitors a day to its
Brussels office, which provides maps and advice geared towards
young people. “The difference between us and a normal tourist
office is that we really do have young people here who know Brussels like the back of their hands,” explains Marichal. “If you go into a
normal tourist office and ask where you can go to find a drum-bass
thing tonight, they won’t know. But we will. Some people in Brussels tourist offices don’t even live in Brussels; but we all do. And

locals know better.”
The latest map of Brussels has something new: tourist walks that
take you outside the centre and into the neighbourhoods, which
Marichal says are unique among European cities. “In the North
Station area, you have the Manhattan quarter, with skyscrapers and
briefcases. Go to the next street, and it’s the red light district. And
if you turn the corner, it’s one big Moroccan scene, the biggest
North African shopping street in Brussels. All of those are just a
street’s distance from each other! Other cities don’t rub shoulders
like that.” 

Tan, 35, started out illustrating
science fiction and horror stories for
the small press, such as the Australian After Dark series for young
people. He eventually both illustrated and authored several books
including The Red Tree, The Rabbits
and his latest, Tales of Outer Suburbia. He is currently directing a short
film based on his book The Lost
Thing. Illustrations from all of these
are represented in Een vreemd land.
Tan’s books are simply gorgeous,
inside and out. Both the scope and
diversity of his tales and drawings are
remarkable, mixing mythical children’s stories with a mature graphic
novel style. The melancholy atmosphere of his work creates emotional
depth and a kind of bewilderment,
drawing the reader into landscapes
both bizarre and familiar, filled with
enchanting characters and fresh
fables.

Australian author and illustrator
Shaun Tan, renowned for his magical, often surreal drawings filled with
powerful emotions and a dreamlike atmosphere, finally enjoys his
first exhibition in Belgium. The title
of the exhibition at Hasselt’s Literary Museum is Een vreemd land (A
Strange Country), which just about
sums it up.
Alienation is key to Tan’s oeuvre,
which he achieves by inserting fantastical beings into everyday surroundings. The multi-award-winning
novel The Arrival (2006), a tribute
to his father who emigrated from
Malaysia to Australia, is the main
focus. Through drawings, sketches
and digital prints, viewers witness
the evolution of Tan’s touching story
about a man who leaves his family in
search of a better life for all of them.
It’s a wordless, moving memoir of
dazzling sepia drawings.

Tan’s books are accessible to all
ages, but the themes are often quite
socio-political. The Red Tree (2001),
for instance, takes on loneliness
and depression faced by a young
girl, while Tales of Outer Suburbia
explores how average people respond
to very un-average occurrences. Tan
often comes back to the same question: will you recognise the value of
the unknown?

It was an unexpected win by an underdog, which always satisfies the
crowd and makes the jury look noble. So few people left Humo’s legendary Rock Rally angry last Sunday after School is Cool won the
top prize. The five-piece band was elegantly described by my concert
companion as looking like “a bunch of brothers who decided to form
a band and got their sister to join”. They’re not in fact family, but it’s
clear what she means: throwing away the shackles of the 20-year-oldemaciated-indie/pop/punk-boy look that pervaded the stage all day,
these Antwerp dudes put on their horn-rimmed glasses, pull their
t-shirts over their ample bellies and pound a folky sounding pop out
of their guitars, glockenspiels and tiny drum sets. They took home
a €10,000 prize. Even more money, however, went to one of those
indie-pop-boy bands, as Willow won both third place from the jury
and the prestigious Public Prize, earning a cool €13,000. (I voted for
them myself.) Second jury prize went to Limburg rock band The Sore
Losers (they weren’t). Lisa Bradshaw

The European Investment
Bank has for the first time
granted funds to health
care in Belgium with a
€325 million gift to the
University Hospital of Leuven. The cancer, maternity
and paediatric departments will all benefit

I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S W E E K LY
NEWS



BUSINESS



ARTS





ACTIVE

W W W. F L A N D E R S T O D AY. E U



LIVING

Recreating ............... 9

Seeing stars.............10

It’s the time of year when
the provincial family recreation parks come alive
again, with free walking
trails and zoos, plus low
fees for swimming pools
and row boats. The first in
our five-part series takes
a look in Flemish Brabant

Flanders is veritably bursting with Michelin stars, the
standard bearer of culinary
excellence. C-Jean in Ghent
is one such; the young chef
tells us how he got – and
keeps – his star

A group of 13 cardiologists at Middelheim
hospital in Antwerp paid €640,000 out of their
own pockets for heart-valve replacements for
32 heart patients because the procedure is
experimental, not covered by health insurance
and only has a slight chance of success.
Narrowing, or stenosis, of the aortic valve is one
of the most common heart problems faced by
older people, with an estimated 4% of those
aged over 65 affected. The solution is replacement of the valve, requiring open-heart surgery.

For the patients at Middelheim, that was no
longer an option, given their age and condition. Instead, the surgeons decided to implant
the so-called percutaneous aortic valve (PAV),
which is brought into the heart through an artery
after being introduced through a simple puncture in an artery in the groin.



continued on page 3

he sound of helicopters hovering above. That to
me is the sound of the Ronde van Vlaanderen,
or Tour of Flanders. Being from south-east Flanders, where the annual cycle race from Bruges
to Meerbeke enters its decisive phase, hearing these rotors
always brings butterflies to my stomach because it’s the first
sign of the riders approaching.
Like many people, this reminds me of my childhood, when
every family gathering seemed to include watching one or
other bicycle race.
This sentimental attachment to the Tour of Flanders
stretches far beyond my family and the area of Oudenaarde, Geraardsbergen, Brakel and Zottegem. It is something millions of Flemish people, of all ages, can relate to.
With the exception of some mountain stages in the Tour
of France, nowhere else do so many people turn up to see
cyclists live.
In the past decade, people from abroad have also discovered the charm of the Tour of Flanders. “One-fifth of the
participants in the amateur Tour, which takes place the
day before the real event, come from abroad. The tour has
become a monument, not just for the Flemish, but for the
entire world. That is why we are taking steps to get it recognised by Unesco as Immaterial World Heritage. Apparently
we stand a good chance,” says Rik Vanwalleghem.
Vanwalleghem, who was a cycling reporter for two decades
and has written a dozen books on the subject, is the director of the Tour of Flanders Centre in Oudenaarde, south of
Ghent, a visitors’ centre that includes a museum, temporary
exhibitions, a brasserie and a shop. With plenty of cycling
maps, information and even showers on hand, it makes the
perfect starting point for cycling enthusiasts.



continued on page 5

Bleeding in the street? €250, please
A woman in Aalst who left behind a bloody spot on
the ground after a cycling accident has been sent a
bill by the municipal insurer – because the fire brigade had to be called out to hose her blood from
the roadway.
Georgette Van Den Bossche and her husband Jozef
Uyttersprot, both in their 70s, were setting out to cycle along the Dender river in August last year, when
Van Den Bossche skidded on cobblestones and fell,
striking her head on the ground. She lost consciousness and, bleeding heavily, was taken to hospital.
She sustained two fractured fingers as well as cuts
and bruises and remained in hospital for eight days.
During that time, the Aalst fire brigade turned up to

clean up the roadway, a job taking an estimated 20
minutes. Last week, Georgette received a bill from
Ethias, the municipal insurer, for €250.
“They’re making a mountain out of a molehill,” Uyttersprot said. “If they’d told me the road needed to
be cleaned, I’d have taken my handkerchief and
mopped up the blood. They know nothing of humanity or feelings; everything comes down to procedure.”
The couple are considering taking legal advice to
fight the payment order. “But then, on the other
hand, I think I might as well pay,” says Uyttersprot.
“Then we can put it behind us.”

Name: ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
Street: ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
Postcode: . ...................................................................................................................................................................................................
City: .............................................................................................................................................................................................................
Country: .....................................................................................................................................................................................................
e-mail: .........................................................................................................................................................................................................
Privacy policy: We fully respect Belgian legislation on the protection of personal information. The data we collect will only
be used for distribution of publications and will not be disclosed to any third parties without express consent.

The annual O-Hanami Japanese cherry blossom festival
takes place on Easter Day
this year. Families are invited
to pack a picnic and visit the
cherry blossoms in full bloom
in Hasselt, home to the largest
Japanese Garden in Europe. In
Japanese tradition, cherry blossoms herald the end of winter
and bring strength and good
health for the new year. (There
is also a sake festival at the
same time for those who need
something even stronger.)
➟ ➟ www. japansetuin.com

Nationalestraat 28; 03.470.27.70
www.momu.be
Until AUG 8 BLACK: Masters of Black
in Fashion & Costume
Zilvermuseum Sterckshof
Hooftvunderlei 160; 03.360.52.51
www.zilvermuseum.be
Until JUNE 13 Delheid 1828-1980:
From Michel to Climax , works from
the Delheid Frères company, one of
the 19th and 20th centuries’ most
important silver producers
Zuiderpershuis
Waalse Kaai 14; 03.248.01.00
www.zuiderpershuis.be
Until APR 4 Congo Exists,
photographs of daily life in the
Democratic Republic of Congo

Bruges
Bruggemuseum-Gruuthuse
Dijver 17; www.uitvindingvanbrugge.
be
Until APR 25 De uitvinding van
Brugge: De stad van Delacenserie
(The Discovery of Bruges: The City
of Delacenserie), the 19th-century
architectural facelift of Bruges by local
architect Louis Delacenserie

Izegem
City Museum of Izegem
B de Pélichystraat 5; 051.31.64.46
www.musea.izegem.be
APR 3 to DEC 18 Shoe, Shoe,…
Shoes! Shoe fashions of the 20th
century together with shoes made in
Izegem, the centre of Flemish shoe
manufacturing, in the 1920s and ’30s

Kortrijk
Museum Kortrijk 1302
Houtmarkt-Begijnpark; 056.27.78.50,
www.kortrijk1302.be
Until MAY 16 Miniaturen: Gras dat
verder groeit (Thumbnails: Grass That
Continues to Grow), group show with
works based on poems and other texts
by Flemish writer Jozef Deleu

Groot-Bijgaarden
Floralies: Seventh annual floral
exhibition in the castle’s 14 hectarepark, featuring more than 500 types of
flowers and a flower labyrinth
APR 3-MAY 6 at the Castle of GrootBijgaarden, Is Van Beverenstraat 5
0494.47.72.56,
www.kasteelgrootbijgaarden.be

Knokke-Heist
International Photography Festival:
Photography and audio-visual arts
festival with the theme “Stars &
Models”
Until JUNE 13 across the cities
www.knokke-heist.info

Arthur’s
Trierstraat 26, Brussels
Situated as it is amid the Eurocrats, Brussels’ Place Luxembourg is awash in trendy
but monotonous pubs. But
there’s one old-fashioned little joint encapsulating everything that’s good about café
culture: great food, friendly
service and a laid-back, artsy
feel that will take you away
from the district’s increasingly stark modernity.
Just off the square on Trierstraat opposite the railway
station and the megalithic
European Parliament, you’ll
find the entrance to this
Bohemian bolthole called
Arthur’s, where you’ll be welcomed into a cosy shop of
yesteryear selling coffee, tea,
chocolates and a range of arts
and crafts curios.
You may choose to spend
your time browsing in the
shop, but don’t miss the rest
because Arthur’s has a serious split personality.
Beyond the brown café, it
opens up into a beautiful art
deco conservatory culminating in a fountain with a magnificent jade façade. With its
verdigris tables and chairs,
running water and mosaic
floor, it’s like a little corner of
paradise.
In keeping with its schizophrenic appearance, Arthur’s
attracts an eclectic clientele.
Friday evenings see the arrival of the knitting club, but
any other night the bar is
happy to play host to private
parties where, for a fee, they
clear away the tables so you
can dance your socks off until the wee hours.
Arthur’s once had branches in
Elsene, Sint-Gillis and Ukkel,
but the owner, a former Coca
Cola marketing guru, decided to deliver outside of Place
Luxembourg by bicycle. The
fact that the remaining café
is unique only adds to its desirability over the café chains
that pervade the high street.
Arthur’s is also a catering
business and is only open
on weekdays. But for private
functions, it opens its doors
in the evenings, including
Saturday nights, until as long
as you can keep partying.

➟ ➟ www.arthurs.be

15

Back page
Sharon Light

F L A N D E R S T O D A Y
march 31, 2010

bite

TALKING DUTCH

straat

➟ ➟ www.wagamama.be

FLA
NDE
RS T
ODA
Y
Free
weekly!

INDE

NEW

capital

PEN



BUS

DEN
INES

T NE
W

S







WWW

LIVI

.FLA

NG



NDE

AGE

RST

NDA



transp
Public
transport
ort rates
European
in Brussels
low
cities carriedleague,
accordingis in 14th
place
Automobile out by
to
in
and London FederationEuroTest for a survey of the able”,
the
23
as did
(FIA).
failed to
20th,
Munich International sterdam and eight other
while
Rail bosse
Brussels make the grade. two East
came
Warsaw. cities, including
hagen,
European first
scored
Barcelona
Eleven,
on weeknights
Explana
s answe
poorly
cities and the winner and Helsinki,among Paris, Amon the
tions
not user-friendl ; information
them
Zagreb
was rated
lack
r to parlia
sought
were rated Copenand Ljubljana,
(Some
on the of night buses 
y; and
“very
ALAN H
for last
 story on
www.eurot
OPE
ment
were given good”. Two“good”,
buses of the criticismno space Internet that
week’s
page
and all
for wheelchair is
estmobility
a failing cities,
5
for prams,
fatal
The three
new trams seems
grade.
.com
acciden
wheelchair and on trams
have mistaken: mosts.
were
heads
t
there arededicated spaces
On the s.)
to givethis week of rail services
also spaces
lowing other hand,
the train the first summoned
in Belgium
bikes
for
and friendly
on trams Brussels gets
February. crash atfull briefing before parliamen
an investigat
and
points
Buizingen on the
advice
tickets
Marc
Luc Lallemand
for alcauses t against
available, at ticket metros; for
Descheem
ion
on
in particular;
and Jannie
and the desks; for competent
of infrastruc acker Monday, of cident. speculatio was under
value
the
nection
and
15
with the
way
Haek
n as to
ture of the
time from for the faster of the 10-triprange of
the causesand warned
Altogether,
terprises federal of NMBS-ho agency NMBS, However,
the
Infrabel ing
minister
by
Brussels outskirts than average ticket
Inge Vervotte
of the
of Represen
reported the start
for lding, together
acreceived to the centre. conwas indeed as “99.9%of this
answer
tative’s
– will governme
the rating
week
it was
introductiquestions infrastruc face the nt en- Passed
what the
certain”
“accept-

Aalst on
Dust off your fancy dress
and stock up on confetti,
it’s Carnival time
KATRIEN LINDEMANS

W

included disguise and inverted
here better to celebrate nies
play. If Lent is the sombre period
the few days before Lent role
is
fasting and moderation, Carnival
than in Aalst – the small of
complete opposite. If throughout
Flemish city with the big the
they’re
the year people humbly do what
Carnival reputation. The celebrations told, Carnival is the time they really say
times,
Fancy dress
date back, in fact, to mediaeval
as and show what they think.
their minds
but the parades, events and parties
being allows citizens to speak
we know them today are this year 14 without the threat of persecution – so
organised for the 82nd time. From of it was 500 years ago, and so it is, to an
to 16 February, Aalst paints a picture
extent, now.
tradition, folklore, political takedowns, Day Two starts with the Broom Dance.
of beer.
Gilles parade
cross-dressing and a whole lot
winds The traditionally-dressed
their brooms
The first parade on Day One
Grote though the city, swing
in an attempt
through the city and ends at the
the row and stamp on the ground While doing
Markt, where the last float of
hours to chase away evil spirits.
a good harvest.
is set to arrive at 19.45 – seven
take so, they beg the gods for
after it started. The people of Aalst to Later that day follows the big “onion
go
but onion
their parades very seriously and
fantas- throw”. Not real onions,
great lengths to create the most
thrown from the balcony of the
sweets,
politiyear,
Every
of them have a
tically absurd floats.
in the town hall. One hundred a prize; the
to
cal and local events are satirised
are number corresponding
onion
parade – politicians and celebrities
lucky visitor who catches the
not spared.
a golden onion
the late with number 1 wins
This tradition goes back to
when, designed by a jeweller.
medieval period in Aalst,
continued on page 4
ceremoLent,
before

days
during the

lice zones that make up the capital.
ions called for judicial and political
a clash
Four unions representing police leaders to take concrete action This debate has turned into poliofficers in the six Brussels police and put an end to “endless palaver between regional and federal
the 19
zones have announced their inten- and empty promises”. Police also ticians and the mayors of
sotion to take strike action starting on lament the inadequate support of- municipalities of Brussels. The
15 February and lasting until 31 fered to squads on the ground and cialist sp.a deputy Renaat Landuyt
the six
March at the longest. The action is the lack of cooperation with adja- has introduced a bill to join
by
a protest at the growth of “extreme cent zones. The most sensitive is- zones, a measure also proposed
violence” against police personnel sue arising out of recent events is the Open VLD liberals.
by criminals, including the use of the call for unification of the six po-  continued on page 3
firearms. In a statement, the un-

playLiving within earshot of a school
for
ground may not be the ideal location
in
many people, but the town of Brasschaat
the
Antwerp province is going one further:
will
new buildings for the Mariaburg school
include not only classrooms, a playground
apartand a gym, but also a crèche and 26
ments.
Brasschaat is one of the most expensive
a large
towns in Flanders in which to live;
who
number of residents are wealthy Dutch
for tax
have moved over the nearby border
guardedly optimismayor, school’s headmistress is
and I respect
advantages. According to the town’s
will tic: “This is a policy decision,
Dirk De Kort, the Mariaburg complex
“As long as we
fami- it,” said Hilde Rasschaert.
I see no
provide affordable housing for young
be- can reach workable agreements,
lies: apartments are expected to cost
reason why it couldn’t be a success.”
contract
tween €150,000 and €170,000.
The town is currently working out a
The plan caused some concern regarding with future buyers, while the children are
and
after
the privacy of both apartment dwellers
expected to move into the new school
schoolchildren. De Kort said the architects the summer holidays.
The
have found solutions to these problems.

FLA
NDE
RS T
ODA
Y

FEB

Employ
gone ers
wild

.............
Last
Friday,
....... 7
demons
about
30,000
traffic trators
stopped
compla in Brussel
in about
this
s
time
jobs. to
the unions
it wasn’t
And
just

Naug
nightshty
DAVIS

n a cold
naked room on
women a Sunday
tall, regal
with
heavily afternoo
and impossib
spirals
the end
made n, a group
in a modern
up
ly
of
a thin of her perform
belly sexy womanfaces watch halfher tightwoman who
ance, dance.
wriggles as a ised on the
of yore:
delivers lipped. has been she turns Instead of
band
Obvious
wagon
expectan applauseand Charlest from
sitting
peacock some hard-hit
rockabil
of romanti
in
ly not
at
on
impressethe corner,tly towards new
to know headdre
ting advice
cising
party and the ly pompad
watchin
d,
why the ss and gold-bea
This
theme: lindy
the dance
ours
to the Miss Deena g which reaches
is burlesqu
perform
Ne Vuilenhop. Now and petticoa
girl adorned Ray carnival
is guiding
days
e. Performer still d harem
they
back
ts to
create
pants;
are launchin
a handful
the genre that
in a cians and,flair – think even Avond (A
er and has her top
she wants
humour encomp
called Belgium
of course, swordfurther, withNaughty
ga
’s very of specially teacher on.
, music,
What
assed
It’s the Schoon Madamm
1920s Evening), a strip routine.
burlesqu swallow
-selected Miss Deena
first
a theme a handful
Commois burlesq
burlesqu
ers, acrobatsand
The 21st
e.
organisebrainchi
utilising of common
Ray theatrica nly
’30s
ue
en (Beautif e dancewomen
r whose ld of Radio
associate – exactly?
as
, magi- subcultu century
with
props
element
sell-out
popular Modern ul Madamstroop, tothey century l burlesqu d with
and costume
Neo-bur res have brings us
home
s:
be England as a
Moulin
, the
e
).
“neo-bu
base crowds all ity shot
bration lesque merged
s and
musicalspread through Rouge
of Ghent. over
through retro dance
combine to form
rlesque”,
,
apprecia of all kinds
can-can
the
Radio Flanders
party low-blow it became act mixed out Europe
s a feministthis new
and various
of beauty
Modern , particulroof last
a form
punch
girls, Aside tion for
by
take
with
in the
pin ups
from
of
has brilliantarly in year, Thisfemale leads. lines
and bodyapproac on old
the seductiv
at high comedic political satire.18th music
art.
h
their
and old-scho
types with a celetheatre,
ly capital- into gained in
brow
Known has also
e
The
and
popular
more
art, often throwinIn fans,
for its heavily quality of ol sexiness a healthy
consume
bawdy
tease.
ity
Aankoop
pale-fac influenc the retro
perform g and its inclinati
r
.
This vaudevilhumourin the US
Balance last weekorganisation
ed, black-aded the
culture,
ed
dramati
, eventualin the 1900s
on towards
released
le showma
rocker
Testnew
Goth
presents Sheet
c make-up
burlesqu
frilly orned,
nship ly incorpo as it evolved Von Marilyn
productio a sombrefor 2009, its Food Ice cream:
Teese,
Manson helps fuel Victoria sulking teenagee.
became rating
n and
picture which was contamin one in
gium.
n shirts,
a performstrip- as the “queenwho has
was brieflythe burlesqu
points Of the 927 distribution of food Soft ice: ated by three samples
ance
of the been dubbed married e fire.corsets
ceived inspected products in Bel- “poor” or 62% of bacteria
new burlesqu by
ucts in
and sales ria
,
“very
samples
the Los briefly to Goth
Calls
main a failing 42%, or
poor”
times 2007, when
had
grade.
points
e Renaissa
388,
Angeles Dita
level
for
Croissan of the
re- Alsace wine:
of bacte-a ing higher than
Some
levels
Brusse
Times
“zero
nce”.
water
report:
of the in 22 of
the limits were 20
ts:
up to
ls policem
too much
the
tolera
34g per too much
often
for drink continued
Vegetab
saturated
ALAN
provides65 samples. sulphite
100g
an shot
nce”
HOPE
les: 73%
on page
tained
“The
fat, more publicity the
by robbers on crime
5
the report
The justice
of samples
than realwine-lover label
Bread:too many
during
to present and
one loaf nitrates
informatiowith
con- Smoked said
than permitted
interior
in four
car chase
the 27 salmon:
clamp
n,”
a
Pita:
samples
by law has more
down plan today ministers
More
less
ing
than
mation
are due
salt Meanwh
than
failed
widespre on
(3 February
the taste half of
in response ad crime in Brussels,
ile on
often about type25% provide
calls
) to have become
test
fatty,
the bright
in Anderlec to continuin
of meat,
for “zero
infor- Honey:
of
ture of
follow- firearms
impossib
side:
meats, poor quality which
tained only two
police
tolerance
ht,
are more
ion represen
is
samples
traces
including and a
le to police.
officer including g unrest last
On Monday,
of antibiotics in 21
mix- to 65%
in an
the shooting week” Kalashnik tative common
pork
conattempte
Light in 2003
Stefaan
, anotherHeavy
said,
, compared
ov
1
€50
zene lemonad
prosecut De ClerckFebruary, d hold-up. of a cause in sometype now with a rifle un10
found,
e: no
areas. available
of
or; at
met withjustice minister issued for concern
chief
traces
compared
, 20
to buy the
the
H 3
the Brussels that to police as This is particula
istratesfor Brussels same
to threeof ben6
for
RC
the
prodMA
P70881
Thielemaand with -Elsene time, the police The sort of weapon.
are not bulletpro rly a
mer
latest
resistant of vests
is certain ns. One Brussels met with
ingsnum
mag- attempte incident
against
between to be an aspect of mayor Freddy
Erkenn
office d robbery took place
increase the new
on the
capital. the various
during
policy Brussels.
Adolpheof a Western
Accordin
the
police in cooperat
Maxlaan
ion police and The men
zones
Union
g to
Jan Schonke
fled
police
were
in the Their vehicle
in central
.3
pursued on the arrival
union
ren, some
they then collided
represen
...........
ran off,
ficer was
with by a patrol of
parts
........... been
of the tative
hit three firing at another car, car.
city
Air relief ent has
times police. One and
ing nightin the
g ls
ofleg.
An agreem
d regard
t comin
Brusse  continued
reacheaircraf
on page
time going from a decade
en the
3
and , ending
betwe
em and
Airportdispute
long in Zavent
nts
airportreside
local

shoe
to
y of
histormeaning
ous
m
ra
illustri ds ext museu
art
m’s ng lenrdinary
– made accord this spontaNo
Belgiu
acturiextrao
own
It’s
and
the
Shoes
of their shoes.
on at convincescreate
tely of their
manuf
ady
to
comple s out the collecti tely
ordiproject sets so comple of artists ing
an alre
in rural
need someth
m. neity that and
land
of
apart
Rose

driving out
museutold
of farm
Shoes of the
Rolf to be
I
a shoe
s
it is
whengoing to visitor ing unique
artist
the middle
and
Dahn
media what appear
t is inFlanders, to smirk I was No Shoes someth
WalterThe late
in
East
tended is where or
his
us and nary. n mixedpainter toes.
shoes
rs.
his
his
People that this But Shoesambitio
Dutch
s covered used
Flande ed Germa
covered plastic. on bothMulker just as he rat
them afternoon. the mostms in
dedicat
of
my
. It is melted candles Urbain world, . A stuffed
one
museu(get it?)
spend to be signed
planted h artist of the objects artist Berend it diverse
me laugh,
of
proved ully-de h it is solely call
maps
s Kamin
ance Flemis
like
of Dutch
beautifalthoug could evenmes madeimport t me shoes with a variety
Thoma
the
with the shoe painter with wire, d
you
And,
someti
brough
n
coloure
to do out of
ponder
Germa d down Fabre a referto shoes, on that me just once,
p. Veerleto pokes while is strappeartist Jan ink pen, , and to
a collectimes made and, shoes.
Strik, shoe
h
of in Antwerwanted
blue
us.
someti objects
pair sky’s r. Flemiswith a he is famous
s
a pair
ts
infamo with
s
.
of shared Over cobbler Bogaer shoe-re
which he is down Lode
Gullive slipper
to tears. with Pierre for theira huge budget
ing ballet dance, forfor which worn
person these
art, old shoes,
It startedrs and l art have of requestearly ence to
love
m,
are
didn’t idea was the they
m spokes
Swente in origina
his ink-pen
they
the This
y they museu they reallythe museu n:
so
invest s, but with
of
questio
email, off across “Mostl says
“So name
businescame up from artists.
ing the
s and
the
which wear,” chaut.
suggest
They of shoes website sent them in
Uytters .” Hence
5
and the shoes
Shoes,shoes?
pairs before
on page
shoes objects No
letters send us
1990s, 1,000
es of the Shoes or still even
continued

“Pleaseart.”
Asia, they
packag
they
,
wrote
ard
Europedid as wear are
the globe. your Cardbo
create
you they did. g in – from simply they clay
artists of shoes paint, r –
And pourin
a pair ed with numbe
began as. Many
decision
sent
Americtold –
splatterBut a huge
group’s to deal
d “a
(often ces).
French social plan
were
the
promise .
ned a viable
to work substan
for
. Unions closures
to comer- condem
or other
called workers oppose our stores
is yet
Gérard
, and laid-off fight” to holding
worst
14 hyperma
for
with
been
hard
y CEO
in Belgium
s fear to close
jobs, long and months I’ve compan marked was
rkets
Union
r plans superma than 1,600ed last “For six light,” said we have cancer of
Carrefou seven more announc which up to the “The stores saved; thea doubling
and
of
y,
not be short of
kets
e”
r
the loss rket chain compan share Lavinay. could
time
Carrefou
fectiv
that
with
of market last closure
Nothing any hope.”
supermaFrench-owned
but by a phart loss over the
offer staff, whichcompetition
deep.
the
s “inef
The a constan
of
loss
Belgian too
could
to Shire,
the
outside
the money,
prove
week.
drug
million on the the Wal- turnover the cost than
at
and
raised and the England. their prodrug
higher unions
to
to
has suffered a €40 it arrived
instead
, he
in the
He blamed
oke, claiming
more
claims since
stores
is 29% both the blame
US as
Belgium the patent
20
and
in
involved
Basingst
seven
on
claim
later.
6
claims – a
sell
sold
years
d
the drugs,
laying own door. page
people x had based in
h and
nine will also
decision was
12 children
the be- pays
ment’s special report:
their that Shire nts pinne
Mestdag
the ex- Zymene al giantto sell Massart
only strike experts denied,
scene,
for the review
hope
group
r manage 
were
a
ed
enough d to informed of disappoi
disease, maceutic
loon ees.
said
be receiving
only
ative Her fa- Shire refused
girl’s
promise was because
the cutstely announc closed s Carrefou
was
will not degener
enough,
family drug
franchis feared
Sick
r storesPolitician
on, duction
But they
a
Massart arrest a told her family.
trial.
Massart of the not effective
HOPE
d.
Unions and immedia
medicati
all Carrefou
ent
t.
officialweek, the
ALAN
has
Sandrathat could
US, where the
was
for the
weeken
saw
the
drug
ginning
pay
ar-old
the
to
treatmen
the
that
to
developm
arresting is on
(MLD), Last
n
at
Metazym
only
Eight-ye tal medicinemakes million America strophy to a stopping
action
results. an.
Sandra and
his attention
in not
picketed
y that raised €1 a new Leukody
leads their
perimen
and
effects. the Food
on
ing test y spokesm turned promise
g
l of 
omatic r enzyme
the compan whohis hopes
some
destroyin disease compan has nowhas shown
particula
t
ther William,
reversing the approva
ahead.
pinning from Metachr
of a nerve cells, of the
Massart
assart
to go
treatmenMLD, but awaits
form
lack
in
is now suffers
new
of and now
therapy
andraM
in Temse,
Sandra a genetic products common
lives
for the
, pro- progress list
most
roups/S
which
waste
who
ration
in
of
The
Metazym was the waiting
Administ l.netlog.com/g
d
build-up e sheath.infancy.
drug x, which
but Massart,
Drug
in the Zymene y promise
protectiv in late no cure,
http://n
y,

emergesis currentlysaw promisecompan The companfor it. Thanks
Danish the time. could pay many ordinary
There Flanders,
at
he
ity of
East by a small trials
providing generos
duced ing clinical
the drug and the
undergohim have efforts
ing
to let fund-rais
to his
LISA

BRADSHAW

I

Carr

16

EU

ERV

10

.......
g to
pt
Gettin Geo ..........
ls’ best-keGeo De
know

of Brusse artist studio,
One , the late ful
secrets ck’s delight. This is
Vlamyn to visitors painter our
in
and
is open artist the first
of own artist
mosaic
s
the subject
of little-kn
series ms in Flander
museu

9

’s
with
kids t of
tanding subjec
Unders is the n’s book
autism childre author Ellens
e
a new
explain
that
by first-tim
eten kids often to
Verspeautistic
need
ork
why recess and
te homew
skip
do separa

In Ward

Pas de deux
"Flanders is well-k
its tough, masculinnown for
e ballet
dancers."

Seventeen-year-old ba
llet student Edo
Wijnen from Deurne, wh
gold at the prestigious o last week won
Grand Prix in New York Youth America
City

Would you like to be one of these people?
Email editorial@flanderstoday.eu.

IE

7

.....

P70

umm

gsn

nnin
Erke

....

A

Mr

Right here, on the back of the newspaper, once a month, we’ll feature
one of our readers and find out where they come from, what they do
all day in Flanders and what it is that keeps them reading Flanders
Today.

Since doubling our subscription numbers in the last year, we at Flanders Today often wonder who you are, what you think and what you
want to read. We’ve had a great response to our survey, and now we
want to take it a step further…

meerdere straten met dezelfde
naam – several streets that had
the same name. Also the many
anonymous fietswegen en wandelpaden – cycle tracks and footpaths
now have a name.
A committee drew up a list of
suggestions, which was sent to
those affected and invited to
make their own suggestions. Now
we see local politics at work: Het
gemeentebestuur heeft de voorstellen van de inwoners zo veel mogelijk gevolgd – The local council
followed the suggestions of the
residents as much as possible.
Kasterlee’s new street signs are
being installed, but that’s not the
end of the matter. Residents now
have to have their electronic ID
cards updated. This is done at the
town hall, where they will also
receive een nieuw huisnummerplaatje – a new house number
plate. Apparently, this has to be
placed op een in het oog springende plaats – in a conspicuous
place (“in the eye springing”) bij
voorkeur rechts langs de toegangsdeur op een hoogte van minimum
één meter en maximum twee
meter – preferably right of the
entrance door at a height of minimum one metre and maximum
two metres.
Some streets seem to have been
named to provoke: take Heuvelstraat – Hill Street in Duffel which
is as flat as a billiard table. It is
not far from Venushoek – Venus
Corner. And just along the road,
you might wonder who lives
in Niemandshoek – Nobody’s
Corner.

between
scien

ture committe
House perts at Danger rail
beabout
on of safety
rail network.
industry that the cause
the apparent
(SPAD).
e to ling who have
equipmen
calls
Immediat
t on the sluggish had centre at examined According a Signal
ported ely following
Belgian
to exbeen red Brussels’ data from
through that one of the accident,
from Leuven
for a few South Station,the signalthe two
minutes
Vervotte a red signal,
to ‘s Gravenbra
drivers it was rebefore the light
and Descheem causing
had gone
kel passed.the train
acker the collision.
responde
d that

What
.............
3
your would you
do if
a treecat was stuck
in the
cold and
freezingup
waking
neighbo
urs with up the
ing?
calledOne man in mewOverijse
startingthe authoriti
of eventsa surreal es,
chain

Henk

Contact Bite at flandersbite@gmail.com



Some street names are a dead giveaway: Wetstraat – Law Street – is
synonymous with government
in Belgium, being the address of
the federal parliament. Others
tell something about the country: Leopold III laan refers to the
king who abdicated in 1951, who
in this case has an avenue, rather
than a lane, named after him.
Likewise, you shouldn’t be
surprised to read the headline
Opnieuw vliegtuigbom gevonden
in Bombardementstraat – Another
aircraft bomb found in Bombardment Street, which was the case in
Evergem not so long ago.
Of course, you will find an abundance of flowers and animals:
Boterbloemstraat – Buttercup
Street, Schapenweg – Sheep Way.
Some odd names soon reveal
themselves: a street called Tramlaan – Tram Avenue – out in the
country tells you that along the
side of this strangely wide road
there once rolled a rural tram.
Others say very little: de Grote
Baan – Great Road, unless it’s
a shadow of itself and now a
narrow lane. Villages often
honour their own by naming
streets after them. Professors and
priests abound: Professor Scharpélaan and Pastoor Pitetlaan, and
of course Pater Damiaanstraat.
With so many villages in Flanders joined by a steenweg – road
lined with houses, confusion can
arise. One place that has decided
to put its streets in order is Kasterlee in Antwerp province. With its
straatnamenproject – street name
project, Kasterlee has renamed

Although many include fried ingredients, the
combination with raw or lightly cooked vegetables
provides a balance towards healthiness. There are
also a healthy number of sweet and spicy Asian
flavours abound; you can hardly go wrong here.
The setting: I wouldn’t quite describe it as “elegant”.
Wagamama has a sleek, modern, almost industrial
look to it. Everyone sits at long tables on benches,
so you know instantly that this is not a location for
a leisurely meal.
The service: Wagamama is indeed just a few steps
removed from fast food. Waiters will take your
order on a PDA, scribble some numbers on the
paper placemat in front of you, and dishes will
come out as soon as they are ready – which is why
you will only see “side dishes” and not “starters” on
the menu.
I did find, shall we say, “Belgian influences” in
the quality of service in Antwerp, but all in all, no
serious complaints. A friend with small children also
assures me that the staff was very helpful, providing
booster seats and being attentive to their needs – so
much so that it’s a favourite spot for family outings.
A value? I’ve always felt Wagamama’s prices were
well in line with their quality. But then again, I’m a
little biased.

Wagamama has been on my list of favourite
restaurants for a decade. I discovered it as a student
in London, and I ate there countless times in that
all-too-short six-month period.
Back in the US, I would occasionally think back
to those Japanese meals while waiting patiently
for Wagamama’s brand to expand across the
ocean – naturally, now that I live in Brussels,
it can indeed be found in Boston, my former
home.
But fortunately, among their 37 international
locations, one can be found Antwerp.
According to the website, “Wagamama” means a
“wilful, naughty child” – although others contend
that “selfish” may be a more accurate translation.
Whatever the meaning, the chain subscribes to a
simple philosophy: “to combine fresh and nutritious
food in an elegant yet simple setting with helpful,
friendly service and value for money.” Let’s break
that down.
The food: Wagamama is based on the Japanese
ramen bar. Noodle soups abound, with varying
combinations of pork, chicken, tofu, fish and fresh
vegetables. You’ll also find noodle dishes sans soup,
as well as some rice-based options.
The dishes are prepared to order in the open kitchen.

GREA
T H IN T MINDS
K AL
IK E

Wagamama

Alistair MacLean

efou

r slas

hes

stor

es

The folks next
door
"I took an old Wall
oo
to let them e the n couple
North Sea
for the firstseti
me.
perfectly happy withThey were
out it."

Flemish TV host Julien
new series on Wallonia Vrebos started a
on the VRT this
week

Lead us not into
temptation
"I myself am a vict
im."

Pastor Antoon Vandenhe
revealed to have stolen nde was
to pay off blackmailers from parishioners
who threatened to
reveal details of his sex
life